Voting Begins For Hill Council Elections In Ladakh, 1st Key Poll Since Article 370 Scrapping

Voting has begun for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council elections in Kargil, the first key poll to be conducted in Ladakh as Union Territory (UT) after Article 370 was scrapped in August 2019.

As many as 85 candidates are in the fray for 26 seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in Kargil.

Ahead of the elections, mock polls were conducted at the polling stations. "We have a total of 278 polling stations. Police arrangements have been made to carry out free and fair elections. Out of the 278 stations, 114 are hyper-sensitive and 99 are sensitive polling stations," Shrikant Balasaheb Suse, Deputy Commissioner Kargil said.

The election is set to witness a battle between the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and the National Conference-Congress alliance. While Kargil has long been a National Conference stronghold with the Congress usually the opposition, the parties have stitched a pre-poll alliance to keep the BJP from gaining a foothold in the region.

The elections for the hill development council are being viewed as a litmus test for the Centre's decision of scrapping article 370 and demoting Ladakh to a union territory, over four years ago.

At a poll rally, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had urged voters to send a "clear message to reject or accept" the decision made by the NDA government on August 5, 2019 "This is the first time after August 5, 2019 that you are getting an opportunity to raise your voice," Mr Abdullah said an election rally in Kargil.